The Rangers currently have five defensemen under the age of
28 on their roster and two more top prospects on the way, so it’s very likely
New York will be looking to add some offensive firepower with its first-round
pick, No. 15 overall in the NHL Draft.

Between now and June 24th, we’ll take a look at some of the
forwards that the Rangers might be thinking about taking on draft
day. Today, we look at…

THN – “Another in a line of small, strong Russians,
Alexander Khokhlachev gets high marks for his competitive nature and strong
character traits.Khokhlachev made a big
statement about his intentions when he came this season to play in Windsor rather than
remain at home in the Kontinental League.Once here, he made an immediate impression.‘I’m not a huge fan, but I admit he’s a
hard-working kid with skill,’ a scout said.‘He’s not a big kid either and it won’t be easy for him, but I give him
credit.All the goals I’ve seen this kid
score have been hard-working goals.’Another scout compared him to Marc Savard from an offensive standpoint,
but he’s more physical.He’s not a
tremendously gifted skater, but that normally doesn’t stop him from being an
aggressive forechecker.‘He’s the kind
of kid who gets in on the puck and makes things happen,’ a third scout
said.‘He’s competitive and gets into
the middle of the action.”

The Scouting Report – "Nobody was too sure what type of a player Khokhlachev would
be this season as most in OHL circles felt he was overshadowed a bit by fellow
Russian Vladimir Namestnikov. It didn’t take long for him to make his presence
known, however, as Khokhlachev quickly established himself as one of the most
dangerous offensive forwards in the league. Offensively, his talent level is up
there with any player in the draft. He’s very good in small spaces and has a
whole bag of puck tricks he uses frequently throughout the game. He’s an
opportunistic scorer and if he shot more, would probably have eclipsed 40 goals
this past season as well. The issue with Khokhlachev comes down to his lack of
size and strength, and determining how much of an issue that’s going to be for
him at the next level. His two-way game won’t blow you away, so unless he can
find a way to add the muscle needed to play in the NHL, he’s going to be a bit
of a risk."

Bruins 2011 Draft Watch – "Supremely talented, and could go significantly higher than
where we have him because of his elite skill and explosiveness. B2011DW has
some concerns about the other areas of his game, specifically, intensity,
consistency and overall effort levels in the areas of the rink where his skill
set doesn't translate as well (along the boards and in front of the net). He's
not very big, but has very good acceleration, separation gear and even the
shifty elusiveness that so many European players possess. When at his best,
he's flying around the ice, turning defenders inside out and wiring pucks to
the back of the net from just about any spot in the offensive zone. One NHL
scout we know absolutely loved Khokhlachev at the beginning of the year given
how seamless his transition was to the OHL, but as the season wore on and he
saw him more and more, the red flags started to surface about his overall
intensity and willingness to compete when the going gets rough. Solid two-way
player...when he wants to be. If he tightens it up in all zones and on most of
his shifts, he's easily a top-10 talent in this class."

Corey Pronman - "Alexander Khokhlachev came over from Russia this
season and helped his stock tremendously as he's one of the highest OHL
draft-eligible players despite being a few days away from being a 2012 draftee.
He has true plus puck skills with very notable hand-eye coordination that
allows him to stick-handle very well with displays of unique creativity. His
passing skills also range in the above-average to plus variety, as his vision
with the puck is great and his passes are generally crisp and on target. Alex
can at times be a victim of over-passing instead of taking the shooting lane,
which is unfortunate as his shot is actually quite solid. Khokhlachev does
exert notable work ethic defensively and in the crease area, but he's just
nowhere near an average physical game with a very immature body and he gets
pushed around too easily. His skating tool has pluses and minuses—on one hand
he has above-average agility and a good first step that allow him to be pretty
elusive, but the top speed barely touches pro level. Khokhlachev has one of the
top skill sets in the draft class, but the physical game will impede him going
forward. That isn't a huge concern though as it would be for most, as his 18th
birthday isn't until September so he is expected to be somewhat behind on the
growth curve."

Alan Bass – “’A lot of things had to come together to make
this happen and the Spitfires are very thankful to all those who were
involved,’ said Spitfires Vice President and GM Warren Rychel upon being
informed that the IIHF approved Khokhlachev’s transfer to the CHL. ‘We are
excited to have Alexander join us in Windsor and are ecstatic that he is now
part of our organization. He has three years of eligibility to play with our
club and his offensive talent will be noticed right away. Alexander is a pure
goal scorer who was one of the most renowned players in Russia when he played for Moscow
Spartak and will be an impact player in our league.’ Khokhlachev has made it clear to scouts and
general managers across the NHL that his goal is to be drafted as high as
possible when the entry draft comes around next June.‘Yeah, it’s like that,’ Khokhlachev said. ‘In
the league I’m going to play the games are always attended by a number of NHL
scouts. If you play well, score and help your team then there will be bigger
chances to go high during the selections.’”

Elite Prospects – “An offensively extremely talented
striker. A very good skater with great creativity. A good playmaker but an even
better finisher. Has soft hands. Needs to gain strength.”

Kyle Woodlief, Red Line Report – “The smallish Russian came
over to play in the Ontario Hockey League this season and proved he
could handle the rough going in North America, all while scoring a bushel
full of goals. Khokhlachev makes up for his lack of size with great puck skills
and creativity, and he has uncanny touch around the net. While he tends to be a
bit streaky, if he scores early in a game, watch out because he's likely to bag
a few more in short order.”

Jess Rubenstein – “Very late 1st to early 2nd as he is a
small 5’10.He is a good worker and is
helped by playing for Windsor.
Huge reach at No. 15.”

Thoughts: A big-time performance in the playoffs may have
convinced scouts that Khokhlachev is indeed worthy of a top-20 pick.It’s an encouraging sign that he came over
from Russia
a year before being eligible for the NHL Draft.Alex Burmistrov did the same thing last year and both showed a
commitment to succeeding in North America.Khokhlachev has plenty of speed and offensive
skill, but is a little small and doesn’t bring much else to the table

Normally the Rangers might be scared off by these
one-dimensional offensive players, but they have plenty of responsible two-way
guys and are in desperate need of game-breaking talent.

The last Russian player the Rangers chose was Mikhail
Pashnin, the team’s seventh-round choice in 2009.The Rangers used their 2007 first-round
choice on Alexei Cherepanov.